Friday, July 16, 2010

Friday Afternoon Links

- Over the last little while, there's been virtually no media coverage of the emerging stories of police abuse during the G20 summit (and associated protests set to happen tomorrow). So let's give credit to Douglas Bell for breaking the silence - and make sure that this weekend's rallies result in the inquiry the issue deserves.

- Is anybody surprised that the Fraser Institute is celebrating Fact Freedom Day?

- Jeffrey Simpson highlights the real problem with the Cons' $16 billion fighter jet purchase:
Liberals criticize sole-sourcing of the fighter. But this criticism misses the point: Canada doesn’t need this fighter at all, and would be better off spending some of this $16-billion on other defence needs.

We need defence capabilities to defend this country’s sovereignty. We need it to aid the civil power. And we need it to pursue Canada’s interests and values, in conjunction with allies, in troubled parts of the world. The F-35 might be nice to have in the best of all worlds, with unlimited budgets, but it doesn’t fit with Canada’s basic defence needs.

Defence of the realm mostly requires a robust naval capacity, which Canada lacks, and air-patrol capabilities, especially for the Arctic and coastlines, not fighter jets. Do we seriously believe the Russians or someone else are going to launch some kind of air attack against Canada such that we need fighters? If you think so, then go ahead and buy the planes. Otherwise, save the money.
- Finally, Leftdog reminds us of the background to the Sask Party's declaration that it can't fund both highways and health care:
Is this the same Premier Brad Wall who dropped the court case which would have forced Stephen Harper to adhere to Canada's Equalization formula? You know, the formula that calculated Saskatchewan was entitled to over $800 Million as part of our two way commitment to Confederation. Brad Wall's idiotic Right Wing ideology got the best of his potential for logic and told him that ... 'naw we don't need any equalization dollars! We have faith in the unfettered free market!' What a load of crap.
...
When Brad Wall tells you that he has no money for floods, etc - ask him why he abandoned $800 Million Equalization Dollars from Ottawa!

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